A semicolon tattoo is one of those images that will catch you attention immediately you see it. Although it is small body marking in most cases, it will raise your curiosity, and you will want to find out more about it.

It has always been part of other phrase tattoos but in the recent years, it has become very popular, and most people attribute this to the launching of the Semicolon Project in 2013.

This punctuation mark is also very symbolic, and its deep meaning when you use in your tattoo is what is making more and more people want to have it. It is also available in various design variations, and so it can also make a stylish body marking.

Origin of This Trend

A semicolon tattoo has been part of phrase tattoos for many years but in the last couple of years, it has become a distinct totem. Most people credit Amy Bleuel for the popularity of the semicolon tattoo through her Semicolon Project that she launched back in 2013.

Amy wanted to use this project to honor his father who took his life as a result of struggles with mental illness.

She also admits that she has also had to struggle with mental illness over the years, and so her aim was to raise awareness and to start a conversation on this topic because few people are willing to talk about it.

In this project, one had to draw a semicolon anywhere on the body, photograph it and then share with others on social media sites. The project was way more successful than Amy imagined as thousands of people across the globe took the challenge.

Although it was going to be something temporary its immense popularity saw the Semicolon Project becoming something permanent with the aim of helping spread awareness on different mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression.

The Semicolon Project also sought to educate people about suicide and give them hope so as to reduce the alarming rate of people taking their lives each year. Soon people were getting permanent tattoos of the semicolon and spicing them up to create some cool image.

And over the last couple of years, the popularity of the semicolon tattoo has been on a steady rise, and it is now part of the body art of people from all generations.

Meaning and Symbolism

The primary goals of the Semicolon Project and also what was on Amy’s mind when she launched it was to raise awareness for the different mental illnesses. Her personal experience with mental conditions and the loss of her father have always been her driving force.

She wanted to start a conversation on the different conditions that people struggle with, and they include anxiety, depression, suicide, addiction and self-injury.

And so having a semicolon symbol can symbolize that you have been struggling with any of this or someone very close to you is going through one or a couple of them.

The best thing about tattoos is that you can draw them in endless ways, and so they will always give you the opportunity to come up with a distinct design.

A semicolon tattoo is not an exception, and although it might look very simple, there are still many ways that you can have it. The following are a few examples of the different design variations or types of a semicolon that you can have.

This design is very popular with ladies, and it entails making the symbol the body of a butterfly. With this tattoo design, you can be able to add some color to your tattoo by giving the butterfly wings different patterns and shades.

And you also give your tattoo more meanings by associating it with a butterfly.

A heart is always a perfect addition to any tattoo, and it is also very symbolic. There are many ways of drawing it, and the most common one entails having the marks inside a heart.

You can also adjust the shape of the dot on top of the semicolon from its typical round shape to a heart shape. Having the heart symbol shows that one loves life and would wish to live for as long as possible.

A few words of inspiration also go well with this type of body marking, and they also help to bring out its meaning. For example, you can have “I Love Life” inked on your wrist and finish with a semicolon on the end.

You can also have the name of a person dear to you struggling with anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts with a semicolon at the end or on both sides to show that you understand their struggles.

This tattoo variation is perfect for those who would love to make their semicolon tattoo bigger than the typical ones. Instead of just having the marks in black ink you can spice them up by introducing a monochromic pattern.

To create this lovely design you should have some intricate and attractive patterns on the inside part of the two marks.

Adding some color to your tattoo is also another viable option as it will help breathe some life into the symbols. For this design, you should first draw the semicolon tattoo as it looks traditionally.

You should then have some rainbow colors inked around it in a splash-like design to make the image colorful. For this design, you can also make the colors outline the symbol instead of using black ink to draw it.

It takes a lot of courage to fight things such as self-harm, depression, and anxiety. An arrow is a great addition to your semicolon because it shows that you have the courage and willingness to move on. In this tattoo design, you should have the symbol as the shaft of the arrow.

Placement Ideas for a Semicolon

Choosing the design for your semicolon body marking is the first step and the next but equally important is selecting the right place to have it. In most cases, it is a small tattoo, and so people will typically have it on the wrist, ankle, back of the ear and also on the fingers.

However, just like with any other tattoo type you can have it anywhere you want or where you find it most symbolic. Some people will have a quote with a semicolon on the upper arm, chest, and back or even on the foot.

The design that you want to have will also dictate where you should have it because a small symbol will not be very visible on the back or the chest because of the vast space around it.

You might not be able to solve the problem for all these people, but you can help spread awareness with a beautiful semicolon tattoo. And so instead of having some meaningless body markings just because they look cool, you can have a semicolon and give hope to others.

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We are a team of enthusiasts and devoted tattoo lovers who wanted to bring all the beauty of inking art to artists and tattoo fans all over the world. Through the years, we have gathered so many pictures and stories that it became simply unreasonable to keep it all to ourselves. This is how Tattoo Journal appeared.